Project Description

Goal:

  • Redesign the current website to improve how the organization presents and organizes the vast amount of research and information it produces
  • Add new functionalities to better serve the Williams Institute’s visitors, scholars and donors
  • Build the new website on a platform that will lower maintenance cost and efforts
  • Utilize a system that makes it easy for the Williams Institute staff to maintain, update and add new content

Solution:

  • Web design and development: we completely redesigned the old website, prioritizing visual clarity and flow of the information, as well as giving visibility to key areas such as Donating and Email list subscription.
  • Design challenges: given the wealth of information that the Williams Institute produces, the website had to be easy to read, yet display as much information as possible in an easy to find way.
  • Usability, Navigation and Information Architecture: the navigation of the site was also another challenging area. We worked with the Williams Institute to group and categorize their information so that the navigation menu helped visitors find quickly the information they were looking for.
  • Functionalities: another area we focused on was the addition of a calendar of events so they could easily refer their audience to key dates and events. We also made it easy for the Williams Institute to capture email addresses to add to their database.
  • The website was built using a Content Management System (WordPress) that allowed the Williams Institute make updates without the need of outside help.
  • SEO: while SEO was not one of the main goals, the website was designed in an SEO-friendly way so that the new website was easily found in search engines

Results:

  • The new website makes it easier for the Williams Institute to update the website and add new pages and information as they add more information
  • Web Anlaytics reports show how visitors are able to access key information pages within 2 clicks, making it much faster and easier than before